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Comment of the Day: Archiving Houston’s Past for Future Affectation

COMMENT OF THE DAY: ARCHIVING HOUSTON’S PAST FOR FUTURE AFFECTATION “I am going to put together a coffee table book called ‘When Houston Sucked’ that will document Houston’s former lack of glory. There will be photos of a half-empty Town and Country Mall . . . a picture of the 10k running route map in the old downtown YMCA that warned women not to run on the bayou trail under Memorial Drive at night . . . a map showing the work of serial killers and arsonists in the Heights . . . and lots of pictures of strip malls and garden-style apartment complexes. All the yuppies, hipsters, and millenials need to understand that Houston used to really suck, so they can feel guilty about the ugliness we lose every day . . .” [Old School, commenting on Paradise Lost on Hempstead Rd.]

Did the Reverend Horton Heat’s song “Livin on the edge of Houston” come to mind for anyone else when they read this COTD?
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I don’t know why. Maybe because it’s about a guy who sucks and was written about a time when Houston still sucked?
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The irony though, is that Houston doesn’t really have edges. Or rather, it’s one giant edge. That’s why a lot of people think it sucks. I think there’s beauty in the suckiness, as cheesy and stupid as that sounds. But I accept that not everyone does.

There *are* a lot of things that suck about Houston; poorly-maintained infrastructure, crime, etc. Thing is, there are ways to address those things that don’t involve replacing 75% of the inner-loop with 500,000$ condos, identical-looking Icehouses, and mattress stores. Shocking, I know.